One of the largest and most lucrative product markets in the United States involves cosmetic accessories for automobiles and light trucks. There are literally thousands of products available that are dedicated to enhancing the cosmetic appearance of a consumer's pride and joy, namely, his automobile. From products that add luster to an expensive paint job, to products that add sparkle to chrome, all one has to do is visit a local parts store to see discover a broad range of such innovative products.
One category of products possibly containing the least variety from which to choose is car-wash products. Car-wash accessories known in the art include special towels for removing water and drying automobile finishes after a car-wash, or chamois cloths for absorption of excess water and the like. Other products in this category include automated hot-air blowers for quick drying the automobile finish, or various hand-held cloth or synthetic pads for rubbing excess water off of an automobiles finish.
Bottled solutions or treatments are sometimes employed as aids to reducing spotting or staining of an automobiles finish often resulting from standing water. The type of water used in washing a car plays a part in possible spotting or staining that may be present on an automobiles finish after a wash. For example, if the water is very hard (has a lot of dissolved minerals) minerals, resultant spotting can be extreme; whereas, if the water is softer, spotting may be lessened. These bottled solutions or pastes are designed to reduce spotting via their interaction with the water itself.
At the time of this writing the most successful (least damaging) method known in the art for removing standing water from an automobile finish is likely the time-tested chamois cloth. The chamois is a highly flexible section of treated animal skin that has a large absorption capability. The chamois is typically used just after the automobile has been rinsed. It is laid out on a surface and pulled in the direction of the user.
Although the chamois cloth is widely accepted as a viable method for removing standing water, there are some inherent problems and limitations associated with it's use. Because of the chamois cloth's persistent adhesion to a wet surface, moving the chamois from side to side, or at directions away from the user, is difficult. The chamois cloth has a tendency to fold or roll under itself if it is not being pulled directly toward the user. This drawback limits accessibility to areas that may need to be wiped. Another problem is that, while a chamois is very successful in absorbing standing water, the chamois must be wrung out when it is loaded with water, a such cloths are difficult to wring.
Because of these difficulties several chamois cloths must often be used to completely remove standing water from an automobile finish. Although the chamois is very soft and generally harmless to a paint job or finish, it is possible that unseen dirt or particles left over from the car-wash process get lodged in the chamois and can cause scratches when the chamois is pulled across the surface of an automobile. This can be particularly disturbing for those who own expensive show cars that support special auto paints that may be susceptible to scratching.
Other types of cloths are available and well known in the art, such as re-washable towels that are sold in most auto-care shops. The absorption qualities, as well as the scratch resistant properties of these products typically vary. These towel-type products are generally intended for users who expect marginal results and are not overly concerned with the cosmetic appearance of their automobiles. Similarly, hand-held pads of the type made out of synthetic fiber vary in their absorption quality, as well as scratch resistant properties. While hand-held pads provide a convenient place for a user's hand (usually straps on the top surface), they do little else to improve the technology of water removal.
It is well known in the art that some products with rubber-like blades, such as squeegees and windshield wipers, work fairly well removing water from a flat or slightly curved surface. These devices, however, are not well adapted to removal of standing water from automobile bodies, because they cannot conform to the sometimes radical and compound curvature of an automobile body. Moreover, many body panels for vehicles such as trucks and airplanes have uneven surfaces, such as broken by rivet heads and the like, and also by intentional functional or ornamental patterns. One such pattern is a diamond shape panel that is well-known in the art and used for truck trailers and the like. Wipers are not known in the art that are efficient in removing standing water from such surfaces.
Air blowers are sometimes employed to evaporate standing water droplets on a surface. This method is most used in automated car washes and the like; and it is well known in the art that an automobile owner concerned with the cosmetic appeal of his or her vehicle would not, under normal circumstances, patronize a commercial auto-wash. Moreover, air blowers of the type that are hand-held are typically difficult because they are cumbersome, awkward, and rather heavy to hold for the time it takes to dry a car body. Furthermore, power cords can get in the way while working on an automobile surface, and cause scratches and other damage as well. In addition, electricity and or battery costs may be a deterrent to those having to wash multiple automobiles such as would be the case with a car dealership, etc.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus for removing standing water from surfaces that is adapted to conform around the sometimes compound and radical curvature of automobile bodies, and around rivet heads and other projections from surfaces to be dried, and is at the same time gentle to surface finishes, easy to use, inexpensive, and durable. It is to these objects and others that the present invention is dedicated, and apparatus and methods are taught herein in enabling detail for accomplishing these ends.